This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by SoRelle, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by SoRelle, R.

(Circulation. 2004;109:e9002-e9003.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Carvedilol Adds to ACE Inhibitor Benefits in Patients After Acute Myocardial Infarction

The ß-blocker carvedilol appeared to improve and even reverse left ventricular remodeling that occurred in patients who had had an acute myocardial infarction and were treated with ACE inhibitors in a study appearing in this week’s issue of the journal Circulation ( Circulation. 2004;109:201–206[Abstract/Free Full Text]).

In this echocardiogram substudy of the massive CAPRICORN (CArvedilol Post infaRction survIval COntRol in left ventricular dysfunctioN) study, 127 patients were recruited to receive an echocardiogram after 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment with carvedilol or a placebo. Left ventricular volumes, ejection fractions, and wall motion score indexes were determined in a blinded fashion. After 6 months, patients who had received carvedilol had a left ventricular end-systolic volume that was 9.2 mL less than that of patients in the placebo group. The ejection fraction in the carvedilol group was 3.9% higher than that of the placebo group. The other measurements were not statistically different, according to the investigators, who were led by Robert N. Doughty, MD, of the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The researchers wrote: "The results support the complementary effects of combination therapy with ACE inhibitors and carvedilol initiated early after acute MI [myocardial infarction] in patients with LV [left ventricular] dysfunction."

Sirolimus-Eluting Stents Work in Real World, Too
The sirolimus- or rapamycin-eluting stent, when used outside the tightly confined environs of clinical trials, appears to be both safe and effective in reducing restenosis (and the repeat revascularization it requires) as well as major adverse cardiac events, said researchers from the Netherlands in a report in this week’s . . . [Full Text of this Article]